© Lisa Cirieco 2025 - Zenhäusern tea room in Sion - Monsieur Raclette!
Created in 2005 and organized by the City of Versoix, Festichoc is a family festival showcasing quality chocolate and its crafts. It allows its visitors to taste the creations of the best chocolate makers in Switzerland!
5-6 April 2025: Make sure to go to this 19th edition of Versoix's Chocolate festival! It's a great day out and you will see some spectacular works of chocolate art as well as taste some great combinations. You might even find some new chocolates that become your favorite! There are 100s of little chocolate shops around Switzerland but Versoix only has room for the ones listed below. This exhibit might change your mind about industrial chocolate forever!
A few years ago I bought a chocolate ring: the ring was metal but they "glued" a fancy chocolate to it and I gave it to a friend (see photo below). Other non-chocolate items included beautifully-colored macarons, bags and calculators (chocolate-themed), and candies. One artisan had a box of 10 different chocolates, each accompanied by the name of the best wine to drink to enhance the flavor, another made the biggest easter egg I have ever seen, while another had chocolate truffles the size of footballs!
For this 19th edition, the team in charge of organization continues to implement initiatives to reduce the festival's footprint and develop actions related to sustainable development.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of initiatives undertaken in recent years:
- Access to the festival is completely free, allowing everyone to participate and promoting social diversity.
- Festival-goers are encouraged to use public transport to get around.
- Drinks are only served in reusable glasses with a deposit.
- Food stalls are staffed by local associations only.
- The staff needed to organize and run the festival are hired by young people from the town of Versoix, in order to integrate them into a communal event and give them their first professional experience.
In line with cantonal and municipal policies, and in order to continue to reduce the amount of waste generated by the event, the catering stands will serve food in reusable crockery only.
No deposit will be required for crockery (except for glasses) to facilitate its use.
The public is encouraged to bring their own tableware.
Have you had enough cheese yet this season? I haven’t. Discover these places in the area but remember we can add to this list if you have other great places to recommend.
MONTREUX: TUBE À FONDUE
Grand' Rue 81
1820 Montreux
Reservataions through the website www.thefork.ch
events@mona-montreux.ch
From 21 November 2024 to 14 February 2025, Open Monday to Saturday, Sunday lunch only.
Fondue au chasselas for Fr. 27.- or the Fondue au Champagne for Fr. 37.-. During the winter season, the unmissable “Tubes à Fondue” take pride of place on the Safran terrace. Enjoy a Swiss fondue, served in traditional fondue pots, while gazing at the lake from the warmth of the amazing glass structure. For bookings of 10 people or more, please email.
BEAU RIVAGE GENEVA: LA TERRASSE ALPINE (photo above)
13, Quai du Mont-Blanc
1201 Genève
Reservations
Menu
Open Tuesday through Sunday until 16 February 2025
Having a fondue in a ski lift (fixed) with a view of Lake Geneva is not a common occurrence. However, the Beau Rivage hotel pulls out all the stops to make this a reality. Reservations necessary. Choose from à la carte or a menu with viande des Grisons, fondue moitié-moitié, and dessert from CHF 79.-.
By Lisa Cirieco-Ohlman
I was recently researching furniture in the Carnotzet style. I was amazed to learn that this is not known outside of the Swiss Romande area! I thought everyone knew what a carnotzet was and did a little research to find out why my search of a wooden dining table with matching wooden corner bench wasn't coming up in the search engine.
In local dialect, a carnotzet is a small room where wine is stored and enjoyed with friends. The word is more commonly used in French-speaking Switzerland, but is also used in the Haute-Savoie region.
The 1894 Exposition cantonale vaudoise d’Yverdon was were the term was first coined. It was where the event's management used to have their breaks. The panelled room was rustically furnished with wooden tables, chairs, and benches. It was a convivial space and became very popular.
Two years later, in 1896, the Exposition nationale suisse in Geneva set up a similar carnotzet. As of 1930, the spread of carnotzets throughout most Vaudois institutions such as the Conseil d'Etat, Grand Conseil, and even the Hôpital Cantonal.
Carnotzet is taken from karnótsè, a form of the regional French dialect, meaning "hut", "compartment", "hiding place", "small room" where bottles of wine are kept. The term first appeared in 1894 in the form carnotset. By the 20th century, all specialized dictionaries were mentioning it, and even in dictionaries such as Le Petit Larousse and Le Petit Robert.
If you love the colors and selections of pumpkins that are avaiable today, then wait no longer! Most restaurants will be serving pumpkin soup around this time of year but see bottom of page for Lisa's recipe. And make sure to check out the events around these seasonal beauty as various festivals in the region.
FESTIVALS
Courges en Folie
www.charmey.ch/en/events/pumpkin-madness
12-27 October 2024
Vounetz/Charmey, Fribourg
A festival with everything you need to enjoy the autumn.
Fête de la courge for kids
www.cpo-ouchy.ch/activites/fete-de-la-courge
Saturday, 26 October 2024
Lausanne, VD
Pumpkin carving workshop, story-telling, face-painting, afternoon disco.
If you want the freshest apples and fruit possible, then bring your boots and some plastic bags and make your way to one of these farms! If we have missed one, then please send us an email so we can add to this list. We will publish an article dedicated to pumpkins early October, so stay tuned!
Most farms are open until the fruits are gone. You usually pay Fr. 1.50/kilo for apples for example. They also sell fresh apple juice in handy 5kg boxes.
